The government has apprehended three masterminds behind illegal gambling sites totaling 3.1 trillion won through international cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The pan-governmental joint "Transnational Crime Special Response Task Force (TF)" announced on the 14th that it had arrested A, the mastermind of the illegal gambling sites, B, the deputy mastermind, and C, a developer, locally in the UAE. B and C were repatriated to South Korea through Incheon International Airport on the same day, while A is scheduled to be repatriated shortly.

According to the government, A and B are accused of operating illegal gambling sites worth 2.6 trillion won in places such as the Philippines and Malaysia, and laundering massive criminal proceeds. Investigations revealed that they fled overseas in 2016 and evaded investigation authorities by laundering their identities using third-country passports.

C was found to have been in charge of programming, developing, and operating another illegal gambling site, separate from A and B. The mastermind behind C's related gambling site was arrested in the UAE last July and repatriated to South Korea. The illegal gambling scale of this particular site is estimated at 500 billion won.

South Korean investigative and intelligence agencies, including the police and the National Intelligence Service (NIS), launched a joint arrest operation with UAE authorities after confirming that A, B, and C had moved to and were staying in the UAE. The operation was codenamed "HALAK," which means "destruction and ruin" in Arabic. The government explained, "It signifies that gambling leads to total ruin."

The arrest operation through international cooperation was carried out based on the assessment that their criminal acts were extremely grave. A and B previously sparked controversy when videos and images of them inviting prominent South Korean figures to their overseas locations and living luxuriously were posted online. They also advertised the name of their illegal sports gambling site on overseas football team uniforms and stadiums.

The organization linked to C was found to have lured middle school students and mobilized them for illegal gambling operations. The government stated, "They caused serious social problems by mobilizing teenagers as a means of crime, inducing gambling addiction, and encouraging the spread of juvenile delinquency."

The government stated that it will continue to track and arrest overseas-based cyber gambling organizations centered around the TF. The government added, "To dismantle their economic foundation, we will strengthen the tracking of hidden assets abroad and actively pursue the recovery of criminal proceeds. Through this, we will firmly establish the principle that even if criminals flee overseas, they will inevitably face the judgment of the law."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]